Shear machine knife adjustment

ABSTRACT

In a shear machine, the lower or fixed knife which is installed in a bed or table which, in turn, is slidably supported on the front sloping edges of the machine side housings, is adjustable horizontally with respect to the upper or movable knife by an adjustable wedge assembly installed frontally, in position to elevate the bed or table along the sloping edges, to reduce the horizontal spacing between the knives. The wedge angle with respect to the horizontal, is sufficiently steep, to cause the bed or table to respond to gravitational pull as the wedge adjustment is reversed, thereby to increase the horizontal spacing between the knives.

United States Patent 91 Pearson 1 Feb. 12, 1974 [52] U.S. Cl 83/641,83/694, 83/700 [51] Int. Cl B26d 1/00, 826d 5/08 [58] Field of Search83/700, 694, 641

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1960 Pearson 83/700 X1/1970 Krynytzky et al 83/700 X Primary Examiner-Willie G. Aberc rombieAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Edward Brosler [57] ABSTRACT In a shearmachine, the lower or fixed knife which is installed in a bed or tablewhich, in turn, is slidably supported on the front sloping edges of themachine side housings, is adjustable horizontally with respect to theupper or movable knife by an adjustable wedge assembly installedfrontally, in position to elevate the bed or table along the slopingedges, to reduce the horizontal spacing between the knives. The wedgeangle with respect to the horizontal, is sufficiently steep, to causethe bed or table to respond to gravitational pull as the wedgeadjustment is reversed, thereby to increase the horizontal spacingbetween the knives.

6 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENIEB FEB 1 2 1914 sum 1 0F 3 FIG. .1.

PATENTED FEB l 2 I974 SHEEISIJFS FIG'. 4A

FIG. 3 1

, 1 SHEAR MACHINE KNIFE ADJUSTMENT My invention relates to a mechanicalshear or like machine, and more particularly to a knife adjustment forsuch machine.

ln cutting metal with a shear machine, horizontal clearance must existbetween the cutting knives, the degree of clearance being usuallydetermined by the minimum thickness of metal to be cut. The knives,therefore, should be adjustable relative to each other to enable properclearance to be obtained.

Usually, when knife adjustments are provided for, only the lower orstationary knife which is attached to the work bed or table, is madeadjustable.

Another problem relating to the shear machines or the like, results fromthe fact that during shearing, the work tends to cause a spreading ofthe knives, thus exposing the knives to heavy horizontal components offorce, and such must be taken into consideration in providing foradjustability of the knives.

The aforementioned problems were taken into consideration in my U.S.Pat. No. 2,939,358 of June 7, 1960 for Ledger Blade Adjustment Means ForShear f Machine. My present invention is an improvement over that of myprior patent.

Among the objects of my invention are;

I. To provide a novel and improved shear or like machine;

2. To provide a novel and improved knife adjustment for a shear or likemachine;

3. To provide a novel and improved knife adjustment for a'shear or likemachine, which can be set to preclude a zero space adjustment;

4. To provide a novel and improved knife adjustment for a shear or likemachine, which enables use of gravity to effect an automatic increase inspace adjustment between knives as the knife adjustment is adjusted inreverse; and

5. To provide a novel and improved knife adjustment for a shear or likemachine, which can adjust both ends of the adjustable knifesimultaneously.

Additional objects of my invention will be brought out in the followingdescription of a preferred embodiment of the same, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein,

FIG. I is a front view in elevation of one half of a shear machineincorporating the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view in elevation of the machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged frontal view of a wedge assembly adjustment andindicating means, employed in the machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view in section taken in the plane 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4a is a diagram depicting the gravity angle involved in the wedgeassembly adjustment of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a frontal view showing the indicating means as modified foruse at the opposite end of the machine;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the indicating means of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view depicting a modification of theinvention.

Referring to the drawings for details of my invention, the same is shownincorporated into a hydraulically powered shear machine comprising aframe 1 involving a pair of spaced similar side housings 3 and 5, eachformed with a relatively deep throat 7 in the front edge thereof.

Joining the side housings along the front edges below the throats, is afront wall 9 constituting a component of a work bed or table assembly inwhich the table 11 extends outwardly from the front wall along its upperedge.

The front wall and table, at the junction thereof, is recessed toreceive a stationary knife 15, while the table itself is braced by endgussets 16.

The front edge portions of the side housings above the throats are setback somewhat to permit of supporting a ram 17 which carries the upperknife 19 of the machine in proper relationship to the fixed orstationary knife 15.

For the purpse of mounting the ram for movement, a pair of ways 25 areaffixed to the upper front edges of the side walls, and the ram isslidably mounted on them by guide channels 29 affixed to the rear sideof the ram and in engagement with the ways.

The operating movements of the ram are controlled hydraulically in themachine under consideration by a system including a hydraulic motor 33at each end, each fixed to the upper front edge of one of the sidehousings of the machine and coupled to the ram. Thus, each end of theram will be powered by one of these hydraulic motors.

The work to be sheared is held to the work table by hold-down meansinvolving a plurality of hydraulically operated pistons in accordancewith the disclosure of US. Pat. No. 2,781,844 of Feb. 19, 1957, forHydraulically Powered Machine in which I appear as a joint inventor.

Inasmuch as the present invention is appropriate to the machine of myearlier aforementioned US. Pat. No. 2,939,358, the side housings willextend to the front of the machine and terminate in sloping front edgesWhfifiglbfihorder omifigfiaes with the vertical. Each of such edgesincludes an upstanding lug 45.

The front wall 9 of the table assembly is adapted to span and slidablyrest upon these sloping edges of the side housings, which may be deemedmounting walls, and to provide for such mounting, the front wall has endslots 49 to receive the abutment lugs, the end slots being longer thanthe lugs to permit of limited sliding movement of the front wall onthese sloping edges for adjustment purposes. Mounting bolts 51 areprovided at each corner of the front wall to securely hold the tableassembly in any adjusted position. The holes for the mounting bolts inthe front wall must accordingly be elongated to permit of any suchadjustments. Preferably, a large washer 53 encircling each bolt 51between the front wall and sloping edge of the mounting wall willfacilitate movement of the wall 9 with respect to the mounting walls inmaking adjustments and may be deemed a part of the sloping surface.

To enable such adjustments, the slots are enlarged circularly at theirupper ends, at each of which ends I provide a novel and improved wedgeassembly adjustment means 55, and unlike that of my earlier patent, thewedge assembly adjustment means extends in the frontal directionthroughthe proximate slot of the front wall in contact with the upper edge ofthe slot and the upper end of the associated abutment lug, and isanchored in the adjacent sloping edge of the proximate mounting wall.

This wedge assembly adjustment means, in its preferred form, includes anupper wedge block 57 engaging the upper end of the slot in acomplementary fit, and formed with its lower surface 59 inclined toprovide an inclined wedge engageable surface extending in the frontaldirection through its associated slot.

Supported on the upper end of the abutment lug is a spherical seat 61 toreceive and support a complementary lower wedge block 63 having a planerupper surface 65 normal to the lug.

The upper and lower wedge blocks thus define a wedge space to receive awedge 67 which extends in a frontal direction into the wedge space thusprovided.

This wedge has a longitudinal bore 69 therethrough, to freely receive astud 71 which, at one end 73, is anchored in the sloping edge of themounting wall, while the opposite end 75 of the stud extends beyond theexposed end of the wedge, this end being threaded to receive a nut 77,preferably one of the blocking type, such as one provided with a radialplug of rubber, plastic, leather or equivalent friction material.Intermediate this locking type nut and the proximate end of the wedge,is preferably installed a washer or washer assembly 79.

it will be appreciated that with the stud securely anchored in thesloping edge of the mounting wall, that any tightening of the nutagainst the washer assembly will drive the wedge inwardly to effect anupward lifting movement of the proximate end of the table assembly, thecomplementary spherical surfaces between the spherical seat and thebottom wedge block, permitting of the slight angular tilting of thetable assembly resulting from the individual adjusting of one end of thetable assembly. A similar adjustment at the opposite end of the tableassembly will restore the table to its original horizontal position, andthe resulting slight upward movement of the table assembly will bringabout a corresponding movement of the lower knife carried thereby.Inasmuch as such movement is along an incline surface, there will be ahorizontal component of movement involved which will diminish thehorizontal spacing between the upper knife and the lower knife.

By reversing the rotational adjusting movement of the nut, the wedge canbe withdrawn causing a slight lowering of the table assembly with aresulting increase in the horizontal spacing between the two knives.

A significant feature of the present invention lies in the fact that, inspite of a shallow slope of say 4 to l, of the wedge surface, the tableassembly will, upon reversing the rotation of the adjusting nut,automatically respond to gravitational pull, forcing the wedge outwardlyin the process, to the extent permitted by the prevailing position ofthe nut. This ability to respond to gravitational pull may beattributable to the frontal direction of installation of the wedgeassembly, taken in conjunction with the angular or slope mounting of thewall of the table assembly.

This will become more apparent by reference to FIG. 4a of the drawingswhere, it will be noted that, while the sloping surface of the wedgewith respect to the longitudinal axis of the wedge, is relativelyshallow, it is the angle which this wedge surface makes with thehorizontal which determines the effect of gravitational pull. Since thefront wall of the table assembly lies at a substantially 30 angle to thevertical, such angle is added to the angle determined by the 4 to lratio slope of the wedge surface to determine the gravity" angle whichthe wedge surface makes with the horizontal. This angle therefore,becomes steep enough to permit the weight of the table assembly andlower knife to overcome the frictional resistance offered by the wedgesurfaces, thereby enabling the table assembly and fixed knife to selfadjust in the downward direction upon reverse rotation of the adjustingnut.

To minimize such frictional resistance, such wedge surfaces may beappropriately lubricated, by machine lubricating channels 81 in theupper and lower surfaces of the wedge and flow connecting them by boresin the wedge leading to accessible grease fitting openings 83.

A zero or negative spacing between the fixed and movable knives of ashear machine is likely to cause serious damage to the knives and themachine and therefore is something not to be tolerated. The presentinvention contemplates precautionary measures to preclude any suchadjustments.

Toward this end, the wedge is provided with oppositely directed ears 85,87, one facing the upper wedge block 57 and the other facing the lowerwedge block 63, with each ear provided with a threaded passagewaytherethrough to receive a jack screw 89 adapted to be threaded intoengagement with its associated wedge block. A jam nut 91 threaded ontoeach jack screw, will serve to maintain the prevailing adjustment of thejack screw.

It will be apparent that the wedge cannot be adjusted into the wedgespace beyond the limits determined by the jack screws. Accordingly, ifthe jack screws are adjusted so as to permit the minimum desiredhorizontal spacing between the two knives, then no closer adjustmentscan be made without deliberately re-adjusting the jack screws, and thussafety in this respect, is assured.

The jack screws in addition to their primary function of limiting theminimum permissible spacing between the knives of the machine, can bemade to serve an additional function, namely that of freeing the wedgefrom the wedge block, should the wedge for any reason become frozen inrelationship to the wedge block from corrosion or other causes. It willbe apparent that such separation can be effected by merely tightening upon the jack screws, which will serve to jack the wedge and the wedgeblocks apart.

In view of the fact that the horizontal spacing between the two knivesis a function of movement of the front wall along the sloping edges ofthe mounting walls, indication of knife adjustments could be obtained bya suitable scale on the mounting wall and an appropriate pointer orindicator attached to the proximate end of the front wall of the tableassembly. Such type of indication however, would not apt to besufficiently accurate, in view of the smallness of the adjustments whichwould be involved, and accordingly more sensitive readings orindications would be desirable.

Accordingly, from the view point of providing amplified indications toachieve legibility and accuracy, I utilize a dial indicator 95 having apressure responsive stem 97 to actuate the needle of the indicator.Because such type of indicator will indicate only in one direction, suchas by a clockwise movement of the needle, and since the relationship ofthe mounting wall with respect to the front wall of the table assemblyat one end of the machine is reversed from that at the other end of themachine, the indicating assembly at one end will At one end of the worktable assembly, the dial indi- I cator is mounted on a bracket 99 ofsufficient length to bring the dial indicator in the plane of themounting wall, and with its pressure responsive stem directed towardsthe proximate abutment lug, on which is affixed a triangular block 101presenting a vertical surface 103 for engagement by the pressureresponsive stern of the indicator.

Being that the engaged surface is vertical, only the forward horizontalcomponents of movement of the dial indicator stem will be blocked as thetable assem bly moves in the upward direction toward reducing the spacebetween the knives. Consequently, the dial indicator will respond to andindicate horizontal components of travel only, and can thus becalibrated to read in terms of the horizontal spacing between the knivesof the machine.

As the table assembly is lowered to widen the gap between the knives,the dial indicator will accordingly restore itself in accordance withsuch lowering of the table assembly and indicate the increasinghorizontal separation of the knives.

At the other end of the table assembly, a similar dial indicator will beemployed, but for reason previously indicated, it will be reversed as tothe direction of its pressure responsive stern. In order to provide avertical surface against which it may ride as the table assembly isadjusted, a horizontal arm 107 is bolted to the surface of the proximateabutment lug and provided with a vertical extension 109 in line with thedial stem, against which the stem may abut and ride with adjustments atthis end of the table assembly.

In the case of both dial indicators, a shroud 111 is provided whichencloses the indicating mechanism except for an opening provided toexpose the dial of the indicator to make readings available.

The present invention lends itself readily to simultaneous adjustment ofboth ends of the table assembly with its fixed knife.

This can be accomplished by machining a worm type thread 113 about eachof the adjusting nuts 77 and simultaneously rotating them from a crossshaft 115 rotatably mounted along the front wall 9 of the table assemblyand provided with a worm gear 117 adjacent each end in mesh with theproximate adjusting nut. One end of this shaft can extend beyond theworm gear and provided with any available means to enable an operator torotate the shaft to make adjustments from one end of the machine.

From the foregoing description of my invention and its preferred form itwill be'apparent that the same is subject to alteration and modificationwithout departing from the underlying principles involved, and Iaccordingly do not desire to be limited in my protection to the specificdetails illustrated and described, except as may be necessitated by theappended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine embodying a horizontal fixed element of substantiallength, a movable element cooperating therewith to perform a change on apiece of work, a pair of mounting walls extending to the front of saidmachine and terminating in sloping front edges, each edge including anupstanding lug, a front wall carrying said fixed element, said frontwall spanning said mounting walls and having end slots receiving saidlugs, said end slots being longer than said lugs to permit of limitedsliding movement of said front wall on the sloping edges of saidmounting walls; wedge assembly means at each end of said front wall andadjustably spacing the upper edge of each slot from the proximate lug toslidably adjust said front wall and fixed element carried thereby alongthe proximate mounting wall whereby to alter the horizontal spacingbetween said fixed and movable elements, each said wedge assembly meansextending in a frontal direction through a slot between the upper edgeof said slot and the proximate lug, and including adjusting means foradjusting said wedge assembly means to shift the position of said frontwall along said sloping edges.

2. Wedge assembly means in accordance with claim 1 characterized by saidwedge assembly means including a wedge block having an inclined wedgeengageable surface extending in a frontal direction through said slotand a wedge having a complementary inclined surface facing said wedgeengageable surface, and said adjusting means including a stud passing ina frontal direction through said wedge and anchored at one end in thesloping front edge of the proximate mounting wall, and an adjusting nutthreaded onto the opposite end of said stud.

3. Wedge assembly means in accordance with claim 1, and means forindicating the horizontal component of adjustment of said fixed elementwith movement of said front wall along the sloping front edges of saidmounting walls.

4. Wedge assembly means in accordance with claim 1, characterized bysaid wedge assembly means having a wedge angle with respect to thehorizontal, sufficiently steep such that the weight of said front walland fixed element will overcome wedge friction as said adjusting meansis reversely adjusted, to cause gravitational lowering of said frontwall along said sloping front edges with a corresponding horizontaladjustment of said fixed element with respect to said movable element.

5. Wedge assembly means in accordance with claim 1, and means forindicating the horizontal component of adjustment of said fixed elementwith movement of said front wall along the sloping front edges of saidmounting walls, said indicatingmeans including a dial indicator having apressure actuated stem in riding engagement with a surface associatedwith a fixed component of said machine.

6. Wedge assembly means in accordance with claim 2, characterized bysaid inclined wedge engageable surfaE'TrTakinEafi ahgle of less than with the sloping front edge of the proximate mounting wall to provide anangle with the horizontal sufficient to enable the weight of said frontwall and fixed element to overcome frictional resistance between saidwedge surfaces, whereby, in the absence of other restraint, said frontwall and fixed element will respond to gravitational pull.

1. In a machine embodying a horizontal fixed element of substantiallength, a movable element cooperating therewith to perform a change on apiece of work, a pair of mounting walls extending to the front of saidmachine and terminating in sloping front edges, each edge including anupstanding lug, a front wall carrying said fixed element, said frontwall spanning said mounting walls and having end slots receiving saidlugs, said end slots being longer than said lugs to permit of limitedsliding movement of said front wall on the sloping edges of saidmounting walls; wedge assembly means at each end of said front wall andadjustably spacing the upper edge of each slot from the proximate lug toslidably adjust said front wall and fixed element carried thereby alongthe proximate mounting wall whereby to alter the horizontal spacingbetween said fixed and movable elements, each said wedge assembly meansextending in a frontal direction through a slot between the upper edgeof said slot and the proximate lug, and including adjusting means foradjusting said wedge assembly means to shift the position of said frontwall along said sloping edges.
 2. Wedge assembly means in accordancewith claim 1 characterized by said wedge assembly means including awedge block having an inclined wedge engageable surface extending in afrontal direction through said slot and a wedge having a complementaryinclined surface facing said wedge engageable surface, and saidadjusting means including a stud passing in a frontal direction throughsaid wedge and anchored at one end in the sloping front edge of theproximate mounting wall, and an adjusting nut threaded onto the oppositeend of said stud.
 3. Wedge assembly means in accordance with claim 1,and means for indicating the horizontal component of adjustment of saidfixed element with movement of said front wall along the sloping frontedges of said mounting walls.
 4. Wedge assembly means in accordance withclaim 1, characterized by said wedge assembly means having a wedge anglewith respect to the horizontal, sufficiently steep such that the weightof said front wall and fixed element will overcome wedge friction assaid adjusting means is reversely adjusted, to cause gravitationallowering of said front wall along said sloping front edges with acorresponding horizontal adjustment of said fixed element with respectto said movable element.
 5. Wedge assembly means in accordance withclaim 1, and means for indicating the horizontal component of adjustmentof said fixed element with movement of said front wall along the slopingfront edges of said mounting walls, said indicating means including adial indicator having a pressure actuated stem in riDing engagement witha surface associated with a fixed component of said machine.
 6. Wedgeassembly means in accordance with claim 2, characterized by saidinclined wedge engageable surface making an angle of less than 90* withthe sloping front edge of the proximate mounting wall to provide anangle with the horizontal sufficient to enable the weight of said frontwall and fixed element to overcome frictional resistance between saidwedge surfaces, whereby, in the absence of other restraint, said frontwall and fixed element will respond to gravitational pull.